Thoughts on Engineering, Photography, and Design.

I knew when I finally started shooting film that 35mm would just be the gateway drug into something else. But I didn’t expect to find what I found, and I didn’t expect to love it as much as I do.

The Mamiya C330 is a medium format film camera that shoots 120 (6x6) film. It’s a twin-lens reflex design, where the top lens is used for focusing, and the bottom lens takes the photo. It focuses via bellows extension and can get almost macro-level close. You turn the knobs on the sides to move the bellows in and out.

The top of the camera flips open and you look down at a viewfinder to focus the scene. There’s also a magnifying glass built-in that’s optional, but when you enable that, you can really dial in your focus. This all sounds kind of nuts, I get it, but it actually works really well. The Rolleiflex is one of the more well-known TLR cameras, but it’s expensive. Additionally, it doesn’t allow swapping lenses, which you can do on the C330. I only have one lens (a 105mm), and don’t plan to buy another, but I could.

For a camera that’s 55 years old (at the time of this writing), the photos I’m able to get out of it just blow me away. I bought this camera on eBay for about $300 (including the lens).

It’s heavy, awkward, and extremely slow to use (fully mechanical, no light meter), but it has given me a new perspective on photography. When I flip through photobooks that were made using large format cameras, for example, I now have a greater appreciation for the work that went into each frame. And while it’s so different from digital, and in many ways, “not worth it”, there’s no greater feeling than composing a scene, pressing the release cable, and finding out that you made a perfect exposure. It’s a very rewarding experience, end-to-end.

There was a time when I simply could not understand what the appeal was when it came to film photography. It always intrigued me, but I was never certain that I had the patience for it and the overall process just felt so… pointless? But here I am. Years later, I have a different perspective. I recently picked up a 20+ year old, used film camera.

Right off, this camera is beautiful! And if you know me, I can’t dare use a camera that doesn’t align with my aesthetic tastes.

I’m not a product review kinda guy, but it’s worth noting a few things that make this camera special:

• The largest framelines are 35mm, which is what I plan on shooting with this camera.
• I shoot aperture priority, which this camera has! (along with +/- 2 stop exposure compensation)
• The rangefinder patch is excellent, despite the camera being old-ish.
• It’s a M-mount, so I can use my existing VM lenses.

There’s a bit of anxiety that comes along with shooting film, but it does seem to make you hone in on what you’re doing because you can’t make “test exposures” to verify anything. If you over expose a scene on purpose, you won’t know if you blew those highlights until you get the film back. You’re forced to understand how different films react to light and be a lot more intentional up front, which I (so far) am enjoying.

Another thing I didn’t really think about: you sort of choose your “edit” up front. Sure, you can make small adjustments to the scans in post-processing, but for the most part, you’re choosing your colors, contrast, and overall feel up front before you head out with your camera. That’s kinda cool and very different for me.

We’ll see how this whole thing plays out. I’m still a digital shooter at heart (if nothing else because of the cost of film, sheesh), but I will say, the feeling I get when cranking the film advance after every shot is pretty addicting.

Anyway, I find that hobbies—including photography—require you to “keep it fresh” to stay motivated and inspired. Right now, for me, that’s the Bessa R2A. Wish me luck!